Back for its ninth year, the Legacy Trust Award Collection is soliciting artwork from Michigan artists for its beloved mini-competition in advance of ArtPrize. Four winning artists will each receive $500 and sponsorship for ArtPrize, the international art competition, scheduled this year Sept. 19 through Oct. 7 in downtown Grand Rapids.

The statewide competition is open to all Michigan artists with disabilities and seeks paintings, sculptures, photographs, drawings, collages, mixed media and other works of art. The four winners will be chosen by popular vote, a panel of celebrity judges and the LTAC Advisory Committee. Four winning artists will also be entered in ArtPrize 2018.

Artists must register with LTAC by Saturday, April 21 to be considered for the 2018 competition.

This year, LTAC Arts will be hosting a Saturday workshop for interested artists on April 21. The workshop will feature parallel sessions on how to market, value and use social media to promote artwork session, along with special needs planning sessions for families and caregivers.

Sponsored by Grand Rapids-based investment advisory and wealth management firm Legacy Trust, LTAC will be held this year in the Grand Rapids Art Museum May 14-15. A private reception for all artists, judges and LTAC supporters will be held on the evening of Monday, May 14.

LTAC 2018 Poster

The public will have a chance to view and vote for its favorite entry on Tuesday, May 15 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the GRAM, located in downtown Grand Rapids.

Winning artists will have their work displayed during ArtPrize at DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids. Last year, 141 artists from around the state submitted artwork to LTAC, its eighth straight year of growth.

“We are so excited for our ninth year of LTAC, especially given the past two years being in the triple digits in artwork submissions,” said Mary Ann Sabo, chair of LTAC Arts, the nonprofit arm that supports the event. “Each year, we are amazed by the talent of the artists and the creativity and skill of their work, as well as by the stories of the artists and their families.

“We are thrilled to welcome artists from all over our state. We are so pleased to again partner with the Grand Rapids Art Museum and DeVos Place for a fifth year as we showcase incredible Michigan artists.”

Winners of LTAC 2018 will be announced on Friday, May 25. Along with having their artwork entered into ArtPrize, all entry fees and promotion expenses for ArtPrize will be paid by LTAC Arts. For the fifth year, LTAC Arts has secured the high-profile DeVos Place venue for the winning artists during ArtPrize.

Artists from all genres are invited to participate in the competition. All artists must submit an artist registration to Sabo PR by April 21. All artwork must be completed and available for showing in Grand Rapids by noon on Saturday, April 21.

Following is a list of guidelines for submitting artwork:

All participating artists must be a resident of Michigan and at least 18 years of age by April 3.

All artwork must be original, attributable to the applicant and completed within three years prior to September 18, 2018.

All artwork is subject to the “Official Rules for Artists-ArtPrize,” which can be found at www.artprize.org.

The top four artists will retain ownership and all rights to their artwork, subject to the rules and restrictions of ArtPrize 2018. The artists agree to make themselves and their artwork available to LTAC and all partnering agencies and sponsors prior to and during ArtPrize for promotions and marketing efforts.

The top four artists who receive the award will be entered into ArtPrize 2018 as a Legacy Trust Award Collection winner.

LTAC artists agree that if their artwork wins any ArtPrize award, they will donate 25 percent of any award to create a special LTAC Arts Endowment Fund to continue arts programs for adults with disabilities in greater Grand Rapids.

Winning artists will be notified by LTAC Arts by May 25 and will be entered into ArtPrize.

There are no restrictions on artists who are not part of the Collection from entering ArtPrize on their own.

Artwork may be delivered by mail, UPS, FedEx or in person to Sabo PR, 401 Hall St. SW, Suite 463, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 49503 by noon on April 21. See the registration form for additional rules and details at www.LTACArts.org.

LTAC Arts will host its workshop on Saturday, April 21, the last day art can be submitted. The workshop will take place at Sabo PR in Grand Rapids. Artwork can be brought to the session and submitted.

ArtPrize, an open art competition that draws hundreds of thousands of people to West Michigan each fall, returns to Grand Rapids for its tenth year on Sept. 19 through Oct. 7.

The Legacy Trust Award Collection is an art competition for adult artists with disabilities. The competition is held in advance of ArtPrize each year, the radically open art competition in downtown Grand Rapids. Each year the artists are so excited to participate and LTAC Committee is always amazed by the talent of the artists. LTAC gives artists who typically wouldn’t have the chance to showcase their art, a way to show the West Michigan community their incredible work.